Caught Cleaner clipping her Nails in our Bathroom..

But why does it even matter? The nail clippers aren't going to get worn out. Nail clippings aren't toxic. Her peasant nails aren't going to infect the clippers...

I am by no means precious but I wouldn’t be ok with this. And obviously the sound of clipping nails is loud and distinctive. If she sneaks off to do this, is she also helping herself to your toiletries, popping on a bit of blusher with your makeup brushes?

Personal items? They’re nail clippers, it’s not a vibrator. To me this is akin to her using my scissors to cut off a tag or a scratchy label. So much of a non issue I can’t believe I’m even responding to this thread.

I think people just want to shit on the OP.
Why couldn't she have ASKED - and the OP would have said yes/no?

I am astonished that it's even something you're concerned about! And even more so that lots of people agree that nail clipping is a sackable offence.

After the thread yesterday with the poster having a fit of the vapours because her cleaner dared have a ciggie out the back door, I'd assumed this was a piss-take about the oiks getting above themselves and taking blasted liberties.

But no.

That's not comparable at all.
You've obviously ok'd her to that , or at least she knows she is doing it with your full knowledge.
Totally different to using your employer's personal items without their knowledge.

I expect she broke her nails or something like or they were irritating her. She should be the one who is peeved by getting caught by someone who might be ocd about something perfectly normal

For me this us a complete non issue. I thought she actually did something terrible for a moment.

If you want to lose your lovely cleaner and emergency babysitter, fire her. Otherwise just make her aware that you heard her and request her to ask if she needs to use something of yours.
Don't just cut off your nose to spite your face

It’s a nail clipper though. Not a precious jewel or something that gets used up. I’d expect to be dropped as a customer if I sent my cleaner a snotty message telling her I don’t like her using my things over a nail clipper.

Unless she had broken a nail then yes sack her. She’s there to do her job not waste paid time.

Sounds like the nail clipping is just the tip of the iceberg as you say she doesn't clean that well. Often we accept poor work for too long and then don't know how to bring it up and something quite small really irritates us because we are irritated already.

Would you mind if her cleaning was thorough? Maybe not?

Perhaps try and address the cleaning standard with her and see if you can accept it.

I let go of a cleaner for washing a sandwich press in the sink like some pan and not seeing their mistake but even that followed many times of boundary crossing that we mentioned to her. And another for strong BO and for not washing her hands after each wee despite going on to make my bed. Her cleaning wasn't good either and I had to look for my things every week even though I asked her to leave everything in the same place.

I feel the fear of this 'huge number of people who have fungal nail infections' is overblown. The same people who get alarmed by eating nuts out of a bowl because of blah blah stats about guys who don't wash their hands. Seriously. It's nail clippers, not sharing a hypodermic needle. Disinfect them yourself if it's so alarming, no need to instruct her to do it as if you couldn't possibly. Laugh it off and lighten up. There's many more things to genuinely worry about.

Ugh. Make sure you disinfect your clippers, OP. I heard a woman on a podcast say she'd had a manicure where the beautician hadn't disinfected the clippers and she got a fungal infection in all her nails and they all fell off. I haven't been able to get over that!

What a horrible thing for her to do!
Why would anyone think this is appropriate
Perhaps OP you should question why she thought it was OK to do this.

Mine even makes herself a coffee and refills her squash before she heads to her next job. Off with her head!

That’s not really comparable though is it? My cleaner helps herself to drinks/microwave etc but she’s in my home and has been told she is welcome to do that.

using my things without asking would piss me off. I’m not sure I’d fire her because like OP’s cleaner, she’s lovely and local. But I would send her a message to tell her that I don’t like her using my things.

I'm interested in how closely you were watching her and why you thought that was necessary.
Perhaps you simply don't trust her.

Imagine you’d all be horrified by my cleaner using our microwave to heat up her lunch while she’s at my house too. I wonder what the Venn diagram of people complaining they can’t find a good, reliable cleaner and people complaining vociferously about something like using a nail clipper looks like 🤔

Your mum was a good’n! Trust me, plenty of people leave dirty toilets and expect another equal human to clean their shit, but balk at clippers / cigarettes / cups of tea etc. Awful people.

Have you asked her if she used your clippers

I really don’t think I’d be bothered by this. Our cleaner often has to take personal calls while she’s working here, she’s become more of a family friend and she’s much loved here. I need her in my life to make it all run better.
If she decided to quickly clip her nails while she was working it wouldn’t register with me other than it being impossible as we don’t own nail clippers! But something like nail scissors or tweezers or whatever. She gets her job done to a standard I’m happy with. She used to stop and have a cigarette break and a cuppa halfway through and usually we something baked that she could help herself too (she doesn’t smoke anymore but she still has the tea and cake).
Anyway only you know if you’re happy to get rid of her over hearing what you think was her clipping her nails. For me that’s not something to fire someone over but I am not you!

Could you give her a warning instead of sacking her?

I would definitely say I'd want them disinfected, and talk about the risk of cross-infection (that could go both ways - she could get something from you, if you have a fungal nail infection,) and say if she ever needs to clip a nail she breaks or something, to ask first.

Perhaps some people do hate cleaners but there seem to be an awful lot more who actually hate people who are in a financial position to employ cleaners.

I think it's perfectly normal if you have someone working in your home to expect a standard of behaviour from them.

And I'm saying this as someone who has worked as a cleaner and is perfectly aware of some people's reaction when I tell them this .